2018 Online Art Market Estimated $3.76 billion

17th July 2014

The value of the Online Art Market in 2013 is estimated to be around $1.57 billion* and it is anticipated it will rise to $3.76 billion by 2018. Given this immense opportunity for growth – are you making the right moves to take advantage of this growing sector of the market?

According to the Hiscox Online Art Trade Report 2014 published earlier this year, the reputation of the seller plays a critical role in the online art sales market. One of the main concerns for buyers when buying art online is their lack of confidence in buying from sellers they do not know. As the third greatest hurdle to stopping buyers from purchasing online, this is a crucial point and signals that reputation might become even more important for the online art sales platforms than they are for their counterparts in the physical world. However, it also signals significant opportunities for those traditional art players – established auction houses and galleries - who have already built up years of track record and reputation who adopt an online selling strategy for selling art.

Hand in hand with concerns with a seller’s reputation, not seeing the physical object remains the biggest hurdle and in particular concerns with conditions of items – without being able to physically inspect the work, would the condition be as reported? This ties in directly with the reputation of the seller – can they be trusted to provide detailed and honest condition reports? This fear can easily be overcome by providing more detailed information for online sales - condition reports and certificates of authenticity are cited as greatly increasing confidence in buying art and collectibles online.

Clearly, building your online market place around a well established and well respected reputation, whilst providing detailed and transparent information of the artworks, will give you the greatest advantage to maximise the opportunities the Online Art Market has to offer.